Moyer: 'We just kept battling.'

PICKERINGTON - With one swing of the bat, Maiah Bell sent an Electric charge into an overflow crowd on a windy Wednesday at Pickerington Central. The lively Philo faithful were officially in a frenzy.

Bell’s mammoth two-out grand slam to right field tied the game and gave the Electrics a chance to send state power Jonathan Alder, with three state tournament appearances the last four years, home much earlier than it anticipated.

Then Jillian Jakse provided her own shock factor.

Jakse, the No. 3 hitter, led off the top of the seventh inning with a go-ahead homer that triggered a three-run surge, propelling the third-ranked Pioneers into another Division II regional final with a 10-7 win.

The Pioneers (25-1) advanced to the finals against second-ranked, unbeaten Sheridan (31-0) at noon on Saturday. The winner advances to the state tournament in Akron.

The 10th-ranked Electrics, who entered with 12 straight wins, flexed its offensive muscle with 10 hits. That included a pair of homers on a day a stiff wind howled out to right field and tortured Philo pitcher Darian Tupuola and counterpart Marlee Jacobs from the outset.

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Alder's offense was even better, hitting four homers among its 11 hits, while it also benefited from five Electric errors. Jakse had two of the homers, none bigger than her line drive to left field in the seventh.

Philo had a chance to escape the seventh with one run allowed, but No. 7 hitter Cierra Moore had a two-out RBI single and Kelsey McDonald followed with a run-scoring double on a liner that was misplayed in center field.

It pushed the deficit to three, but Philo coach Michelle Moyer still felt her team had a chance. Given the nature of the game, with teams combining for six homers and 12 extra-base hits, one couldn't question her optimism.

"Even in the bottom of the sixth, we're down four and our kids just stepped up and we tied it up," Moyer said. "I can't say enough about our team just constantly battling back."

Philo trailed 5-2 in the third, but drew within 5-3 when Corin Tom and Bell cracked consecutive two-out doubles. Philo failed to score after loading the bases with two outs in the fourth, then stranded two runners after an inning-ending strikeout in the fifth.

Alder then added two big insurance runs in the sixth with a two-out rally, as Moore lined a homer and McDonald doubled, took third on a bunt single and scored when Philo made an errant throw to first on a ground ball.

True to form, Philo had another rally.

Corin Tom was hit by a pitch in the sixth to load the bases with two outs. It gave Bell a chance, and she wasted little time in launching a majestic blast after getting ahead in the count.

"All I wanted was a base hit or a line drive," Bell said. "That would have been good to me. But in the back of my head, I was like 'a home run would be pretty awesome because I've never had a grand slam.' All of a sudden there were two balls and out of the park it went. I've never done anything like that."

The Electrics couldn't muster another rally, but their resilience was on par with what Moyer saw from the team all season. They also rallied from four runs down against Wintersville Indian Creek in the tournament opener.

They embraced the underdog role as a No. 6 seed in the East District, despite 16 wins at the tournament drawing.

"They didn't care," Moyer said. "They were just going out and doing their thing and playing ball. They did it right down to the final out."

Bell said Tupuola, who pitched a complete game in her final start, "kept our team together."

"I don't think she gets enough credit for everything she does," Bell said. "She's a heck of a pitcher and we couldn't have done it without her."

Bell's big day was supported by Maddie Phillips' two-run homer in the second inning, which spotted Philo a 2-1 lead, and a pair of doubles off the fence from No. 8 hitter Allison Tom. Camber Revennaugh, who played in her final game, added two singles.

Lindsey Potter also homered for Alder, which scored four times in the third on Emily Walker's RBI single and Jakse's three-run homer to left.

Moyer hopes her team looks back fondly on the experience. It finished 22-7.

"Tied for second in the (Muskingum Valley League), district champs, going to regional — how many people can say that?" Moyer said. "Not very many. The seniors only went once. They just kept battling. They gave me everything they had for four years."